Penelope (mistress)

Penelope was a French baker and a mistress of King Henry II of France.

Biography
Penelope was born to a family of poor commoners, and she came to serve at the court of King Henry II of France as a baker and a member of his kitchen staff. In 1558, Queen Catherine de Medici convinced her of the importance of winning the "Queen of the Bean" contest, in which she could become Queen for a day if she ate a piece of a large cake which had a single bean in it; she instructed Penelope to win the competition and have King Henry drink a potion. She slept with a baker to ensure that she had the slice of cake with the bean in it, and, after she won the competition, she became King Henry's new mistress and used her newfound power to undermine Catherine. She was later dismissed after a fake Bishop scared Henry into confiscating Penelope's lands, and Catherine then sent Penelope to Italy to serve as one of her spies.